The pain had reduced to a dull ache. Once sufficiently warmed, his foot was dried off from the heat of the fire. Then the hunter slathered it with a muddy mixture of herbs and wrapped it tightly with bandages. THAT was excruciating. But the ogre endured.
That night he slept fitfully. He woke to a hearty meal of venison and small eggs. While he ate, the hunter gathered equipment.
He had his strange double-crossbow, six glass bottles attached to a belt, and several other vials of various concoctions. The bottles were round and filled with two types of pure liquids, one black and the other a bright blue. The ogre also noted that he carried two quivers. Finally, the hunter wore his winter gear and was leaving. The ogre started to panic but didn’t want to impose.
“Oh! Hey, uh, don’t go anywhere, alright?” He gave the ogre a smirk. “I’ll be right back. I promise.”
So he was left alone. The silence was uncomfortable and alien. Back home, there was always noise: laughter, children crying, the sizzling of meat being cooked, or the singing of a visiting family member. Now, it was just the lonely crackle of wood in a fireplace.
Something felt… off about the hunter. The child was grateful to him for saving his life, of course. It was a debt he could never repay properly. He went out of his way to save the child, going so far to drag him through a storm. Still, when he smiled, it never quite reached his eyes.
The ogre stomped that thought out before it could kindle. He was a good man who had saved him. Instead, he wondered how exactly he could help him hunt a spider. He couldn’t walk, at least, not for long or very far. And the spider was not likely to be the household variety. Well, he would have to wait to find out. It was exciting, actually helping with something like this.
Ogres did not hunt until they reached level five, and then not alone until level six. That was a tradition he was willing to break; however.
The hunter came back within an hour. He stomped the snow from his boots and carried a bundle of sticks. Some of them were quite long.
“Alright, kid. Let’s get you ready.”
“Ready how? Are you wanting to get the spider now?” The hunter glanced over the branches and selected the largest. It had a fork at one end.
“Can’t waste any time.” He started whittling it, cutting it into a shape. A crutch, the ogre realized. “I’m gonna say this now, so you don’t end up whining about it later. But that foot of yours is done. It’s dead. But you can still hobble on it. So whatever damage you do to it today is a non-issue.”
“That would hurt… a LOT. I don’t want to.”
“You ain’t got a choice. But, don’t worry. I’ve got a solution.”
"Okay… Will THAT hurt?”
“Nah, quite the opposite. Now hold still.” The hunter began bracing his foot with straight sticks, then wrapped more cloth around them. His foot was wrapped tightly enough to look like a boot.
“What do you need me to do?” he asked while the hunter was working on something else. He emptied a small amount of a vial into a bowl, then filled it with another liquid from a flask.
“You just need to help me keep an eye out, is all.” He inspected an arrowhead. It was sharp and dark. Then the hunter dipped it in the bowl, the tiniest amount at the tip of the arrow.
“Don’t you have someone to do that already? A friend or a partner?”
“Nah. People don’t like me much. Now hold still.” The ogre stiffened as the hunter brought the arrow to his foot. “I said hold still!” He held his breath as the hunter slipped the arrow between bandages and cut him just above the ankle.
At first, it hurt as he expected, but then it throbbed. The ogre gasped and thrashed around reflexively. Just as quickly as it started, the pain was gone. There was a tingling, numb sensation.
The hunter flicked his foot. It felt like a cascade of tiny pricks, but nowhere near the pain from before. The hunter grunted in satisfaction.
“What did you do? The pain’s gone.” Suddenly, he saw the hunter in a new light. The radiant light of a savior.
“A little bit of poison can sometimes do more good than harm if you have an eye for it.” Now the hunter brought out a large, old, worn boot with the laces undone. “This won’t be comfortable; bear with me.” With a smile, the hunter tried to put the boot over the bandages. It took several tries, but eventually, it was jammed into the boot tight, and the knots were tied securely. The whole time, the ogre winced and whined. It wasn’t painful, per se. But the feeling was intense, strange, and alien to him. When they were done, the hunter collapsed onto his back and panted.
His foot was now completely entombed in cloth, supports, and leather. It looked ridiculous. But his foot wouldn’t move even if he tried. He might be able to walk on it, though slowly. To put his mind off the tingling in his leg, he asked the hunter about his trade.
“So, you use poison?”
“Yep. I ain’t one for the honorable kill. Dead is dead. This stuff comes from a lizard on the other side of the mountain.”
“You’ve been that far? What’s it like?" The hunter looked to the west, as though he could see through the walls.
“On the other side of the mountains is a sea of sand as far as you can see. It’s hot, dry, and mighty dangerous.” The ogre’s eyes sparkled.
“How far have you traveled? You don’t sound local.”
“I’ve been all over. I prefer to be on the move. Here is some advice, kid. Reputation is bad news; doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad.” He jumped up from the ground. “That’s enough dilly-dallying. Let’s get a move on.” He held a hand out for the ogre.
Standing on his leg was odd. That intense prickling sensation worsened, but it could be manageable. Using the crutch, he was able to walk at a decent pace.
“Good, good. Before I forget, here.” He handed him a large leaf wrapped in something brown and foul-smelling. “In case we get separated, and the pain is too much, bite down on that leaf a few times. Then, tuck it all into your lip, here.” He rolled his lower lip down. His teeth were yellowed, and a black spot had begun to grow on his gums.
“Ok, Hunter.” He tucked it into a pocket. He still held some resignation about going back out there. But that was what the hunter wanted to do, and his mother always told him to mind his elders.
Together, they set out on the hunt.
The hunter didn’t talk much, which made sense. Even when he had to wait for the ogre, he never called out to him or made noise. He only watched him with an intense gaze. So the ogre tried very hard to keep up and not make a noise. It was exhausting work. The worst parts were when he had to navigate difficult terrain, go downhill too steeply, or when he fell.
After an hour, his leg slowly began to pain him, and the hunter gave him a second dose of the poison. He wondered if he would be all right. The hunter knew what he was doing, surely.
Soon, the hunter held a hand to stop him, then pointed. They came across a camp. There was a fire pit, with an accompanying log for sitting. Next to a fallen tree, a tight and compact lean-to-style shelter was formed. A deer hide was stretched over it, and words were etched into the fur.
“Please take care of it. I worked really hard on it. -A”
The hunter whistled, which almost made the ogre jump. “Nice place. And a note, how kind. See, this is the sort of wilderness hospitality that is disappearing from the world.”
“Do you think the spider was here?” The hunter looked around the camp with a frown.
“Nah. Monsters aren’t the leave-friendly-note types. And they tend to not build a shelter if they could instead steal one, like a cave.” He started dusting around in the snow. He grunted. "But they may have had a run-in. Something was killed here, dragged away.”
“How can you tell?” All the ogre saw was snow. Was someone killed here? The ogre felt a twinge of sorrow for the lost. Maybe it was a good thing to track down this monster.
"Skills and experience. A lot of really handy tracking abilities. Now c’mon.”
They followed the trail quietly for another hour. It led to a short cave.
“This is a monster shelter if I’ve seen one.” He whispered. “Go check it out.”
“Me?!” What was the ogre going to do?
“Don’t be daft, ‘course you. That’s why I dragged you along.”
“What… what do you mean?” the hunter sighed.
“This is how you pay your keep. If I poke my head in there I’m likely to lose it. If YOU do, well, I still have the crossbow.” It was loaded and ready to go.
The ogre felt his stomach drop. Bait? Was that why he was out here? The sense of betrayal was more painful than his leg. “I… don’t want to.”
“Kid. I don’t like killing folk I don’t have to. It’s messy. No one wants to hire murderers and all that noise. So, just do what I say, and it will all work out.” The ogre felt like he was going to be sick. But what was he going to do? Run? He’d make it two steps. He could sit down and cry. But… he had cried enough already. So, he steeled himself. If he got through this, maybe he could make it to the nearest town.
Shaking, he sneaked to the cave as best he could. It was not the stealthiest the ogre had ever been, that’s for sure. He had to sit down to slide into the cave.
It smelled of rotten meat, blood, and bile. He held back a gag. He just needed to check, then run away. That thought was repeated in his head over and over. Finally, he gathered the courage to look into the cave.
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Just as he did, a lumbering beast was crawling from the depths of the cave to check on what was making all that noise. A black bear, one canine exposed through a split lip. Dried blood and bile were still stuck to its snout and neck.
The ogre screamed and tried to reverse. The bear roared in response. With all the desperation of a caught mouse, the ogre crawled the way he had come. He managed to make it halfway out before the bear was upon him. It straddled over him and sniffed. He could feel the hot breath and smell the stench of its breath. Then, casually, it leaned in to take a bite.
THWACK!
The bolt plunged deep into the bear's neck. Immediately. It began to howl and thrash. The ogre held his arms over his face to protect them. Again and again, the bear smacked him with a thrashing head.
The poison worked fast. The bear was not attacking him directly; it was merely reacting to extreme pain. Then the bear stopped moving as a second bolt pierced its eye. Its full weight fell on the ogre.
After a moment of silent suffering, the hunter's voice piped up. “Hey, you alive?”
“Mmmhmm.” was all he could manage. The bear was heavy and was pressed into his face.
“So, a bear, huh? I thought it might be, but you never really know. Good job, kid. Handled it like a champ.” He didn’t know whether to feel proud or angry at that statement. It never paid to be mad, so he accepted the compliment with a muffled thanks.
It took a short time to uncover the ogre. He got a third dose of the poison. Was that the same poison that he killed the bear with? Was it going to cause him problems down the line?
“What did you do to it? That is… intense poison.” The hunter smiled with excitement.
“Neat, ain’t it? It tricks the body into thinking it’s bein’ hurt. The poison isn’t technically lethal. But it is so damn painful, a lot of critters die from the shock of it.” He hefted his crossbow. “That’s why I can get away with this bow. It doesn’t pack much of a punch, but I don’t need it to. Hurt em, then get close and cut em. If they ain’t my target, well, apologies don’t go over too well then, so I just bolt.” This was the first time the ogre had seen a hint of genuine joy from the man. It didn’t make him feel any better, considering the topic. “Now, let’s get going. We got a spider to find, and I’ve got a feeling we are getting close. There was another trail to follow back there, but I wanted to try this one first.”
—
Anath and Elyndris told stories and talked all through the storm. It was nice. She had never talked with anyone for so long. About an hour into it, she could tell Elyndris wasn’t as excited about the conversation as she was. But it was still nice.
The next day, they decided to leave the camp. At the last minute, Anath thought it would be nice to leave a note. Hopefully, someone would find her shelter and use it.
Wrapped up in the various furs she fashioned into winter clothes, she set out to scout the manor. It was several days' travel away, so she took with her as much venison as she could.
She wasn’t in any hurry. For the first time in a while, she felt like she was strolling through the woods rather than stumbling around in the dark. It was quiet and peaceful. Elyndris was mostly silent unless something set her off on one of her rants.
“Stop. I feel movement. Up a tree, quick!” Anath was startled, but the spider obliged, taking her up a tree and out of view from the ground. Was it the bear?
“What is it?”
“Not sure. I just felt the footsteps. It walked strangely. You have the eyes; try to find it.”
She spotted the man after a short time looking for him. He had a large head and was walking with the support of a simple crutch. Suddenly, he looked around as though searching for someone. There was exaggerated confusion on his face. It almost made Anath giggle. She zoomed in on him. Tusks? “I think… it’s an orc.”
“Big, green, ugly?”
“No… just, tusks.”
“An ogre? Are they kind of… jutting out?"
“A little. But it’s too small to be an… oh! I think it’s a kid!”
“A child! That means its parents aren’t far away.” She scanned for them but saw no sign of them.
“I don’t see any. Maybe he’s lost.”
“Maybe. Go find out.”
“What?! No!”
“Why not? It’s just a kid. Maybe it knows about that ruin.” Anath hesitated.
“I’m not allowed to talk to people.” She said it reflexively, old habits resurfacing.
“You talk to me. A lot.”
"Yeah, but… you’re Elly. You don’t count.”
“I am going to ignore that.” The worm turned to face her. A gesture purely for Anath. “This is another weakness.”
“I know…”
“Do you remember what I told you about weakness last night?”
“Kill the weakness quickly and without mercy. I know.”
“So, go talk to it!”
“Why do you want me to talk to him so badly?”
“Because it might try to eat you.”
“What? Why would you want that?”
“Because then WE can eat IT!”
—
The ogre and the human continued their hunt in silence. There was a tension between them now. The hunter didn’t act any differently. But now the ogre had a glimpse into the hunter's mind. He was just a convenient lure.
He was essentially a lame cow. A meal impossible for monsters to resist. And if he made noise, all the better for luring their prey.
He was hobbling along for a full two minutes until he noticed he didn’t hear the hunter's footsteps. He looked around for him. The hunter was gone. No sign of him. Had he been fed up with his pace and abandoned him?
Not a minute later, there was a soft thump behind him. He turned, expecting to see the hunter.
What he found was the Shy Spider.
It’s long, spider legs pointed at him menacingly. It stood upright, as though to lunge. The thing was covered in multicolored fur and tangles of hair. Then it spoke.
“Um…” the ogre yelled and tripped over his crutch. Then he scooted back like he had with the bear. “Wait… I…”
Then the bolt hit her.
It came from nowhere. The ogre figured out what had happened at that moment. The hunter probably spotted it and wanted to use the ogre to lure it into an easy targeting range.
The spider fell to the floor, the bolt sticking out of her shoulder. Then she screamed. Not the roar of a monster. Not a scream of rage. It was the soul-tearing screech of a young girl.
The ogre saw her for what she was. She was a girl. Just a little older than him, only with… spider bits. What he thought was fur was crude clothing and a mop of ragged, long black hair. The world began to spin. His breath started coming faster and faster.
Was he helping that manhunt an innocent girl? The hunter had never actually said it had hurt anyone, or that it was harmful. He didn’t know what to do. He wondered what his mother would do.
He thought back to how he remembered his mother. Not the feral beast that took her from him, but his real mother. The kind, nurturing, warm one. He remembered caring for a passing human who was in need of food. The young faun that had survived an arrow wound, which she nurtured back to health. The kindness she showed others.
“Hey, did I get it?” called the hunter. The ogre growled. The hunter saved his life, yes. But only to put it in danger. He bandaged his foot. Only so it wouldn’t be a burden. Carelessly kicking him while he was down, threatening his life, forcing him into a bear cave, and now hurting this girl. Yet, he still spoke like they were friends, old buddies, even.
“Girl? GIRL!” A voice screamed from the girl's shoulder. A worm crawled from her mass of hair, and then it screamed in rage. It was a tiny, high-pitched hiss. “You lured us into a trap! Prepare to die.”
“Not me. Him.” The ogre pointed behind him. The hunter wasn’t in view yet. He was taking his time. Likely to let the “monster” tire itself out on the ogre. The worm was silent for a moment. A silence even louder than the girl's moans of pain.
Then, it flew off in the direction of the hunter. Quick as a bolt itself. The girl's shoulder bounced from the force of the kickoff. He was stunned for a moment. Was that a talking worm?
Focus!
He had a decision to make. His instinct was to pick up the girl and run. But… then the hunter would kill him and her. He knew that as sure as he knew the snow was white. But could he live with himself if he let the hunter hurt her? Could he leave her?
Leave her like he left his mother.
“What the hell? Get off!” The worm had caught up to the hunter. He didn’t know what a worm could do to him, but it bought him some time.
He stood up, forgetting the crutch. Using his natural ogre stubbornness and sheer will, he pushed himself toward her. The arrow wasn’t deep, but the poison was in her. She screamed and thrashed, one hand clutching at the wound.
He pulled out the bolt and she screamed louder. Was that the right move? He had no time to think. His wound flared up as he tried to pick her up.
Grunting, he pulled the leaf from his pocket and bit it. It was bitter and oily. It slipped between his tusks like it was made for the space.
He hoped the pain would ease soon, but for now, he pushed through it. She was light, almost weightless. But the spider legs kicked wildly in the air. He was forced to carry her over a shoulder.
The ogre jogged, a run was out of the question, away from the hunter. He didn’t have a plan, only a goal. Get her to safety and get away from the madman.
The pain faded from his foot. Then the world became… soft. His head swam. Everything felt light and bubbly. He found himself giggling. Then he laughed at the absurdity of laughing at a time like this.
The forest streamed by him like thick mud. It was now well past noon, but he still felt the sun on his face. It was a nice, happy feeling.
Eventually, the ogre found himself hiding under an overhanging cliff. How he got there, how far he had traveled, and where the hunter was, he couldn’t tell you. But he was coming down from the euphoric feeling. What was in that leaf? Why didn’t he get that the first day?
The girl was semi-conscious. She was lying on her back, spider legs sprawled out. Sweat dripped from her forehead, and she shook with pain. She heaved air in and out of her lungs.
Looking at the wound, it was only an inch or so deep. The bolt didn’t pierce the bone. That was good. He did his best to wipe off the wound. Now what? He should have given her the pain-relieving medicine, he realized. Stupid ogre.
So, he waited and did his best to be quiet.
“Hey, Kiiiid. What do you think you’re doing?” The ogre's blood ran cold. Of course, he found them.
He had to do something. The girl was fighting the pain. He should do his part.
The ogre limped around the cliff and was soon face to face with the hunter. He was ten yards away, holding his crossbow.
“The hell’s going on, kid? You got a death wish?"
"She's... She’s just a girl. Leave her alone.” His voice was stuttering at first, but he found confidence with each word. The hunter looked him in the eyes for a long while.
“Shit!” He lowered the crossbow. “Seriously? I heard rumors…” The ogre was stunned. Was that going to work? “What are you going to do then, kid? You're gonna protect her?”
“If I don't, will you kill her anyway?” He seemed to genuinely think about it.
“Well, can’t say I wouldn’t be tempted. It was three hundred silver. But still… hunting kids is bad luck.” He suddenly laughed. “Damn, kid. Turns out I like you. I kicked that life a bit too hard in ya. Took guts to tell me off.”
“You’ll… let us go?”
“Why not? But that means I’m going to be down three hundred silver.”
“Thank you… hunter.” His voice was shaking.
“But next time I see you, you'd better be ready to repay it.”
"Okay." The ogre shuddered. What could that mean? He would pay it, he promised internally. It was the least he could do in repayment for his life.
“Well, alright then. Good luck, kid.” He whistled as he left. “Oh, and don’t forget our trade. Name for a name. I’m looking forward to learning it.”
The ogre watched the hunter leave, simple as that. He still didn’t know if the hunter was his enemy or if he was a friend. He hoped he never saw him again, but there was a part of him that was sad to see him go.
Anath
True Name: Anathema
Soul: Monster/Mortal
Genseed: Human
Monster Level: 3
[Class] Level: 4
Attributes [2]:
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 8
Constitution: 8
Intelligence: 11
Will: 9
Charm: 8
Feats:
Encounter: True Angel
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Vile Concoction
Act: Devotion [layered feats]
Skills[3]:
System Aptitude: 1
System Assistant: 1
Survival (Boosted): 1
Biotraits [1]:
Disease Resistance
Extra Limb (Arachnid), x4
Venomous Mandibles
Multi-eye (Magnified)
Hardened Chitin
Other:
Variant: Arachnid Traits
Elyndris
True Name: Elyndris
Soul: Monster
Genseed: Larva
Monster Level: 4
Attributes [0]:
Strength: 7
Dexterity: 5
Constitution: 5
Intelligence: 4
Will: 4
Charm: 4
Feats:
Encounter: True Angel
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Devotion [layered feats]
Act: Blasphemy
Skills [0]:
Burst of Strength
Pounce
Biotraits [0]:
Base size: Miniscule
Jaws
Tremor Sense
Complex organs
Ogre
Ogre
True Name: [None]
Soul: Mortal
Genseed: Ogre
[Class] Level: 4
Attributes [0]:
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 5
Constitution: 8
Intelligence: 7
Will: 6
Charm: 6
Feats:
Knowledge: System Knowledge
Act: Vile Concoction
Act: The Ever Hungry
Skills [3]:
System Aptitude: 1
Biotraits [0]:
Rot Resistance